Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Review of Pro Ultimate Team Logos

Last year during the evaluation of the 2012 AUDL team logos, a recurring question was asked: "Why?" I explained that if a professional league – now, professional leagues – wanted to be taken seriously as "professional," then they should appear "professional." Sure, I wish the sport to be lauded on its athletic merits, but pro Ultimate will also be judged on its product, which are team branding logos.

Regardless of their financial motivations, the two leagues – AUDL & MLU – have an inherent responsibility of representing Ultimate. Not just Ultimate, AUDLtimate and MLUltimate.

I welcome Eli Neugeboren to evaluate and grade the 20 professional Ultimate teams this year. So, COMING SOON...a critique of nicknames & logos for all of the pro Ulti teams.

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From: Eli  [twitter: @enoogs]

Ultimate has made the jump and is now a professional sport. Not just a couple of teams with sponsors, but ownership, contracts, stadiums (ahem), and everything else that goes with being professional. One thing that has not been as considered in making the jump to being professional is the thing that should have been considered first: the branding.

Launching a professional league calls for having a professional brand identity, from uniforms to merchandise to the website (the first point of contact these days). This has not been the case for the AUDL, nor the MLU. Most of the logos appear to have been designed by amateurs or students, and with the start of the seasons mere days away, most of the websites have nothing more than a homepage and a bunch of broken or "under construction/coming soon" links.

Here is the rubric for grading these brands (borrowed from Brand New, a division of Under Consideration): On Logo; On Typography, plus a final grade.

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